Belfry

Definitions: Belfry

Belfry

Noun

1. A bell tower; usually stands alone unattached to a building.

2. A room (often at the top of a tower) where bells are hung.

Date "belfry" was first used: 1272. (references)

Etymology: Belfry \Bel"fry\, noun. [from Old English expression berfray movable tower used in sieges, Old French berfreit, berfroit, French beffroi, from MHG. bervrit, bercvrit, German bergfriede, from MHG. bergen to protect (G. bergen to conceal) vride peace, protection, German friede peace; in compounds often taken in the sense of security, or place of security; originally therefore place affording security. German friede is akin to English free. See Burg, and Free.]. (Websters 1913)

Domain	Definitions
Literature	Belfry A military tower, pushed by besiegers against the wall of a besieged city, that missiles may be thrown more easily against the defenders. Probably a church steeple is called a belfry from its resemblance to these towers, and not because bells are hung in it. (French, beffroi, a watch-tower, Old French, berfreit, belefreit, from German, berg-frit, bergen, to protect, frit [vride], a place fenced in for security.) "Alone, and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits." Tennyson: The Owl, stanza 1. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

a Belfry is a historical building in which the important papers of the cities were kept in the middle ages. They can be found in the western provinces of Flanders and in the north of France along the Belgian border. Very famous are those of Bruges, Ypres and Ghent.

Synonym: Belfry

Synonym: campanile (n). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Temple	Chancel, quire, choir, nave, aisle, transept, vestry, crypt, golgotha, calvary, Easter sepulcher; stall, pew; pulpit, ambo, lectern, reading desk, confessional, prothesis, credence, baldachin, baldacchino; apse, belfry; chapter house; presbytery; anxious-bench, anxious-seat; diaconicum, jube; mourner's bench, mourner's seat.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Belfry

English words defined with "belfry": Bell deck ♦ Deck floor ♦ shuttered. (references)

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	It can be truly said, that I have a bat in my belfry. (Batman; writing credit: Bob Kane; Sam Hamm)
Movie/TV Titles	Bats in the Belfry (1960) Belfry Witches (1999)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	A Light in the Belfry (Ravenloft Audio Cd Adventure) (reference) Bats in the Belfry, by Design (reference) Bernie Magruder and the Bats in the Belfry (reference) Cats in the Belfry (reference) The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems (Notable American Authors) (reference) (more book examples)

Music	Bats in the Belfry (reference) The Belfry Bells of Bruges (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Exterior view. Photograph by Robert W. Kerrigan, March 1937. (Reproduction Number: HABS NEV,15-GOLD,1-1) This weathered firehouse once served the now-abandoned town of Gold Hill, the frontier mining community associated with the discovery of the Comstock Lode of silver ore in 1859. Gold Hill and neighboring Virginia City profited greatly from the rich lode through the 1860s and 1870s until the mines gave out around 1880. The Liberty Fire House is typical of the early wooden fire houses that protected many Western mining towns. It featured a false parapet front, a simple belfry, and rustic siding. It collapsed not long after this 1937 photo was taken. The belfry alone was retained as a monument.Credit: Library of Congress.		The trombone players climb the steep belfry stair to blow stately chorals-- / John Wolcott Adams.Credit: Library of Congress.
	The Old Belfry, Lexington.Credit: Library of Congress.		The Old belfry, Lexington, Mass.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Community Church, East Williston, Long Island. Detail, entrance and belfry.Credit: Library of Congress.		Pohick church. Pohick church belfry.Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Play	Caption	Play	Caption
	Church bells; Big Ben; chiming; chime; ding dong; clapper; belfry.		Church bell; chime; time; ding; dinging; belfry.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

"Belfry" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 97.73% of the time. "Belfry" is used about 88 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	97.73%	86	35,638
Noun (proper)	2.27%	2	245,945
Total	100.00%	88	N/A

1. Belfry, KY
Zip Code(s): 41514
Country: USA

2. Belfry, MT
Zip Code(s): 59008
Country: USA

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Expressions: Belfry

Expressions using "belfry": have bats in one's belfry ♦ have bats in the belfry. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "belfry": belfry-based.
	Ending with "belfry": anti-belfry, Michael-le-belfry.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Belfry

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
belfry	49	belfry comic index	4
belfry comic	41	belfry golf club	4
belfry ky	36	the de vere belfry	3
bat in the belfry	32	the belfry golf course	3
belfry hat in	15	belfry hotel oxford	3
belfry theater	7	belfry comic online	3
belfry mt	6	belfry inne and bistro	2
belfry hotel	6	belfry montana	2
oxford belfry	5	belfry witch	2
belfry high school	5	belfry kentucky	2
belfry inn	4	belfry cottage near	2
belfry golf	4
		belfry cottage near	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Belfry

Language		Translations for "belfry"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		kullë (Barton, bastion, rook, steeple, tower), kambanore (campanile, Campanula, steeple). (various references)

Arabic		‏برج الحرس. (various references)

Bulgarian		камбанария (campanili, steeple). (various references)

Czech		zvonice. (various references)

Danish		klokketårn (belltower), klokkegalge. (various references)

Dutch		belfort (bell tower, belltower). (various references)

Esperanto		belfrido (bell tower). (various references)

Farsi		برج ناقوس کلیسا. (various references)

Finnish		kaupungin kellotorni (belltower). (various references)

French		beffroi (belltower). (various references)

German		Glockenturm (bell tower, belltower). (various references)

Greek		κωδωνοστάσιο (belltower, campanile, spire, steeple). (various references)

Hebrew		מ�'�"ל פעמון. (various references)

Hungarian		harangláb (Columbine), harangtorony, harangtartó gerenda, harangtartó állvány, harangszék tere, harangszék helye. (various references)

Indonesian		menara lonceng (campanile, carillon). (various references)

Italian		campanile (bell tower, campanile, steeple). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		鐘楼 (bell tower). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		しょうろう (bell tower, top), かねつきどう (bell tower). (various references)

Manx		thie cluig, shamyr chluig, claggys (bell tower, campanology). (various references)

Pig Latin		elfrybay

Portuguese		campanário (bellow-tower, belltower, campanile, steeple, tower). (various references)

Romanian		clopotniţã (bell tower, spire, steeple). (various references)

Russian		колокольня (bell tower, steeple). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		zvonik (steeple, turret). (various references)

Spanish		campanario (bell tower, campanile, steeple, tower). (various references)

Swedish		klocktorn (belltower, clock-tower). (various references)

Thai		หอระฆัง. (various references)

Turkish		çan kulesi sahanlığı, çan kulesi (campanile, steeple). (various references)

Ukranian		каланча (watchtower), вежа (tower), повітка (barrack), дзвіниця (campanile, steeple). (various references)

Welsh		clochdy (steeple). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Belfry

Language	Period	Translations
Middle High German	1100-1500	bercfrit. (various references)
Old North French	1200-1500	berfroi. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Misspellings: Belfry

Misspellings
	"Belfry" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Balfarg, balfry, Beafra, Beffroy, beldray, belfr, belfre, belfy, bellerbys, Belver, bilary. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Belfry"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "belfry" (pronounced be"lfrē)
4	-l f r ē	Palfrey.
3	-f r ē	comfrey.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Belfry

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "b-e-f-l-r-y"
	-1 letter: beryl, ferly, flyer, refly.
	-2 letters: byre, byrl, fley, lyre, rely.
	-3 letters: bel, bey, bye, elf, fer, fey, fly, fry, ley, lye, reb, ref, rye.
	-4 letters: be, by, ef, el, er, re, ye.
	Words containing the letters "b-e-f-l-r-y"
	+1 letter: briefly.
	+3 letters: butterfly, flybridge, refutably, wolfberry.
	+4 letters: defrayable, flybridges, preferably, sufferably.
	+5 letters: barefacedly, butterflyer, certifiably, farkleberry, irrefutably.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.